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W-Systems’ Top 10 Creative Ways to Find New Leads

Finding new leads can be challenging, and resorting to your everyday techniques can also seem unfruitful. Different factors, such as demand for growth and lack of time, can make the creative process for finding new leads difficult to accomplish. However, there is hope to breaking this monotonous cycle! Through a collaboration of outbound research and expertise from W-Systems' in-house sales team, we created a list to help individuals find, approach, and reach new leads.

1. Referrals

Once or twice a year, email your client base and ask if they have at least one business contact who may be interested in speaking with you about your business. By only asking for one referral you won’t overwhelm them and they will be more inclined to assist you.

2. Become an Industry Expert

Become a go-to person for all questions and concerns within your industry. By becoming a reliable source, your window of opportunity expands and you are able to meet additional prospects through appreciative customers.

3. Set Up a Contest

Setting up a contest for a free service or product is a creative way to bring new traffic your way. By having the contestants enter their information in order to qualify, you are able to touch base with new potential clients as well as promote your product or service. Be sure to pick a prize that is distinct, helpful and motivating in order to assure that contestants apply.

4. Offer Free Trials, Free Webcasts, and Free Webinars

When giving away free information, make sure it’s valuable. Nowadays it’s harder to give free information away, so make sure that what you’re offering is re-usable and useful.

5. Join at Least Four User Group Forums

By joining numerous forums you can see what people are talking about, including the good and the bad about products and services in your industry. You can also get a feel for the competition, and stay updated on new features, products, and improvements. The initial goal is to stay informed on developments in your industry, not to meet potential customers. But if you know the ups and downs of your industry and your competition, you can guide unsatisfied customers towards your company and your products.

6. Use Social Media to Help Advertise to Your Industry

Social media is a useful tool that companies too often ignore or neglect. Advertise your work, your products, and your goals so that everyone can see how passionate you are about what you do. Whether you’re using LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, people will be able to see how active and committed you are. Also, separate the message for each medium. For some companies, it may not make sense to advertise products and services through Facebook. Instead, use Facebook to show off your company culture, new hires, and company outings.

7. Join Networking Groups in Similar Industries

Concentrate on finding individuals to work “With” and not work “For.” By attending numerous functions and events you are given a chance to network with many different individuals. Get your name out there and meet people who may later refer you and your company.

8. Don’t Forget Your Local Community

Because of the World Wide Web, people often forget how influential working locally can be. People prefer to do business with local companies. So, advertise and promote your business at local events, and in newspapers, magazines, and directories.

9. Host Live Seminars

This works hand-in-hand with being a go-to person. By hosting live seminars you are able to display your knowledge of your industry. Actively sharing information on your field and industry can help you engage with new leads.

10. Create Partnerships

This is a great way for you to consistently meet new leads. By partnering with a company, you can solve numerous problems for clients as well as market yourself twice as much. Find a company or product that compliments your existing business and create a way to market your products and services. This will offer more to each customer and create a larger audience for you to reach out to.

These are just a few ideas we found to help diversify and freshen-up your lead generation. What other methods have you found useful in your business? Let us know by leaving a comment.

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W-Systems is a top national provider of transformational sales and marketing technology. We are business analysts and developers and want our solutions to fit your organization like a glove. Put us to the test, we love a challenge.